[Vol. 7] Chapter 234: Return to the Origin
As her final whispered words faded, the little blonde girl was suddenly surrounded by a brilliant golden light. Glowing dragon-like patterns shimmered across her armor and battle dress, as if dancing all over her body. In the end, they gathered at her forehead and formed a small, delicate golden dragon mark. She let out a mighty roar toward the sky!
“Woooooo~!!!”
The three Semi-Divine artifacts, each powerful on their own, yet originally meant to be used together, now all covered her body at once. Their powers shined together, and her long golden hair flew wildly as if stirred by a strong wind.
Her strength, which had been held back until now, suddenly exploded like a storm, growing higher and higher. Behind her, a towering golden dragon silhouette rose up, like a wheel of light and a sacred ring, releasing a proud and overwhelming energy that seemed to shake the heavens!
In truth, the seal that Violet had placed on Xiao Guang before her first trip into the [Morst Underground Labyrinth] still had not been lifted yet. This seal wasn’t just some simple magic, it was a divine power personally cast by Violet, who held the divinity of [Reincarnation].
The reason for suppressing Xiao Guang’s level wasn’t only to protect her from the dangerous traps and defenses in the dungeon.
To explain it simply, if the difficulty of reaching true godhood from the highest level of a demigod is considered “100,” then the difficulty for an ordinary being to go beyond their race’s limits and reach the “transcendent level” is probably around 5 to 10. Still very hard, of course. But compared to the first, it’s much, much easier.
The sealing technique created by the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden could forcefully lower someone’s power level, making a divine being seem like a mortal. But more importantly, the seal could also be lifted at any time, instantly raising the person’s level again.
At first, this might seem strange or even useless. But think about it carefully…
What if someone kept the seal active, and while in a weakened state, trained hard and broke through to the mythical level by their own effort, going beyond their limits as if they were still mortal? Then, if they removed the seal afterward, what would happen?
A being who had already reached the mythical level… would then gain an extra full level of strength.
This was one of the true hidden uses of the [Reincarnation] power. It could turn the impossible into reality. It weakened the massive barrier that blocked beings from becoming gods, making it ten times easier to cross. It was a divine technique that could help create powerful beings that should not exist!
Of course, even with this method, a being without a divinity still couldn’t truly become a god. If someone without the proper soul strength tried to break through, they would end up like Feng and Tong from the Spirit Veil tribe. Powerful in body, but mentally broken or even close to death because their soul couldn’t handle it.
So usually, this technique was only used to raise someone’s power just below the level of a demigod. Even then, it was already seen as a miraculous shortcut that many strong warriors dreamed of mastering.
Still, “Dawn” had always been curious, if someone could somehow meet certain impossible conditions… could this method actually let them break through that final wall, and truly reach the realm of the gods?
That answer was now clearly displayed before Violet's eyes.
The golden scales became a dragon, just like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon.
As if she had sensed something coming, the black-haired girl summoned the [Eternal Scepter of the World's Heart]. A barrier of invisible energy spread out from it, replacing part of the original space, and blocked all sounds and movements from the surrounding mountains.
In the next moment, the little pink fist covered in golden light scales had already touched the frozen black-and-white flame dragon claw.
It was as if time, which had been paused, began to move again. The colors and sounds of the world suddenly returned.
The massive claw, seemingly unchanged from before, continued to slam downward along its original path, not realizing that its target had completely changed in just an instant.
Fist and claw crossed paths in the darkness, making a strange, unnatural sound.
“Puff~”
There was no booming dragon roar, no intense flames or heatwaves, just a simple and plain punch. But that golden-red fire dragon, over 100 meters long and taller than many buildings, suddenly broke apart.
From the point where the fist met the claw, the dragon's entire body, made of fire, burst apart like an overfilled balloon exploding, shattering into countless sparks that flew across the sky.
And then...
“BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!”
In the very next instant, after the fire faded, an invisible force blasted out from the little golden-haired girl’s punch. It roared forward and tore through the mountain range ahead. The impact created a wide and tall open path, as if a dragon’s claw had swept across the land, stretching straight into the distant plains beyond!
With just a single flick of her hand, the world changed.
The Dragon Mountains were said to be created by a forbidden spell cast by the [Earth and Matter Dragons], making them several times harder than normal rock or stone. While not as unbreakable as the [Wall of Heaven] of St. Bergen Mountains in the Holy Empire, these mountains were still as tough as steel. Ordinary forces couldn't even scratch them.
Normally, even a pseudo god-level being would need to use their full strength to force open a path through such mountains.
But that earlier punch, which looked plain and held no magic at all, not only destroyed the giant flame dragon but also, through its leftover force alone, punched a hole clean through the mountains.
Such power, turning the impossible into reality, tearing open the world itself, could only be created by one thing…
The true power that belongs only to gods. [Law].
“Bang!”
At the same time the flame dragon was completely destroyed, the pillar of light surrounding its controller also quietly broke apart. The powerful backlash hit the dragonkin from a distance, blasting them all away. They fell to the ground in all directions.
Among them, was the tribe leader herself.
“Owww… that hurts… What just happened?! This must be a joke, right? How could it be destroyed in just one hit...?”
Cleo clutched her chest, kneeling on the ground with difficulty. She looked in disbelief at the wide "mountain path" that had been blasted open just beside them. Realizing the attack had intentionally avoided their location, she instinctively turned her gaze towards the petite figure surrounded by a rain of starlight, adorned in a beautiful white-gold battle skirt and armor, and encircled by a divine halo.
She paused for a moment.
“……”
The girl with golden hair stood tall among the mountains, her hair dancing in the wind. In her eyes, it was as if Cleo saw the reflection of another proud figure, similar yet different. Cleo opened her mouth, as if to speak… but no words came out.
The shock and unwillingness in her gaze slowly faded. In its place came deep reverence and complete surrender. She gently lowered herself to the ground, kneeling in worship before the girl who had proven her power beyond all doubt.
“We’ve lost… I, Cleo Dorgon, High Priestess of the Dragon Temple… greet Her Divineness the Dragon.”
Following her lead, the other dragon guardians and priests, over a hundred of them, though scattered and shaken but mostly unharmed, also fell to their knees where they stood. Their sincere and respectful prayers began to echo through the sealed mountains, holy and solemn.
“We greet Her Divineness the Dragon! Praise the Dragon God!”
The platinum armor and the glowing divine ring slowly faded like a receding tide. The little dragon girl calmly accepted the worship and praise of the crowd. She glanced at the priestess who had returned to her side and gave her a small nod of understanding.
Then, alone, she walked over to Cleo and looked down at the deeply kneeling priestess.
With no expression on her face, she said,
“Take me to her.”
“Yes.”